Two U.S. health care workers fall ill after treating patient with MERS

Two Florida hospital employees have reportedly fallen ill with flulike symptoms after coming in contact with a patient suffering from the second confirmed case of MERS in the United States.

One employee has been admitted to the hospital and is being tested for the viral disease. The other is at home, according to media reports. Officials are also monitoring roughly 20 other health care workers possibly exposed to the deadly respiratory disease.

Scientists think the virus does not readily spread between healthy people without close contact, and infections transferred from one person to another tend to cause milder symptoms.

Editor's Note: The hospital at which both patients work, the Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, has reportedly tested the two health care workers and found they did not have MERS. We will update further as news becomes available.